Special Educational Needs Policy This policy has been written with regard to the Code of Practice for Special Educational Needs; DfES/581/2001; The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA), as outlined in the Disability Rights of Commission (DRC) Code of Practice; The Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS); Curious Kittens Equal Opportunities Policy and Procedure, Inclusion Policy, and Behaviour Policy. At curious Kittens we welcome and support children and adults with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. Aims of the policy To work within the Special Needs Code of Practice, DfES 581/2001 (updated in January 2010) To monitor and review individual needs of children, enabling early identification and to facilitate early intervention. To ensure all children with SEN engage in all activities and are fully included. To identify systems and strategies which are effective and flexible in response to changing need. To have a positive approach, building on children s strength and taking into account their wishes, appropriate to their age and understanding. To involve parents in a positive working relationship. To work in partnership with outside agencies. Definitions of Special Educational Needs Children have special educational needs if they have a learning requirement that calls for special educational provision to be made for them. Children have a learning difficulty if they: Have a significant greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age Children may also have a special educational need, if their progress far exceeds development records for their age group, and that of their peers
At curious kittens we do not regard children as having a learning difficulty solely because the language or form of language of their home is different from the language in which they will be taught. We work with parents, under the guidelines of our Inclusion and Equal Opportunities policy in making sure children for whom English is a second language, are included in all aspects of nursery life. This SEN policy details how as a setting we welcome all children from the age of 0-11 years, we will endeavour to do our best to ensure that necessary provision is made for any child who has special educational needs, in compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act (1995), and that those needs are made known to all who are likely to care for them. The nursery will ensure, to the best of its ability that staff are able to identify and provide for those children who require additional support. If a child has already been identified as having a special educational need prior to entry, we will endeavour to help him/her to be integrated into the group and do our best to ensure the necessary provisions are made for a positive transition. In order to accommodate individual children s needs at Curious Kittens, we provide a flexible settling in period, according to parent s wishes and the requirements of the child. Individual children s needs are discussed when parent/carers initially visit the nursery. Partnership with Parents Should a child apply for a place that has a disability, medical or educational need, these needs will be discussed with parents/carers, management and SENCo. This will be the first point of establishing a positive partnership with parents, sharing information, entering into an agreement of needs, and making any reasonable adjustments. Reasonable takes account of costs, available resources, health and safety and the interests of the other children. Parents can access the Parent Partnership Services; Email :parentpartnership@plymouth.gov.uk Telephone: 01752 258933. Plymouth Parent Partnership Old Treasury Building Catherine Street Plymouth PL1 2AD Partnership with parents plays a key role in enabling our children with SEN to achieve their potential. The nursery recognises that parents hold key information and have knowledge and experience to contribute to the shared view of a child s needs and the best way of supporting
them. All parents of children with special educational needs will be treated as partners and supported to play an active and valued role in their child s development. The nursery will have regard to the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice when carrying out our duty toward all children with additional needs and will ensure that parents are notified of a decision by the nursery that SEN provision is being made for their child, in order that we may work in partnership, with the child s best interest at heart. At curious kittens Nursery we are committed to working with parents and value them as equal partners in their child s care and education. Parents are kept informed on a regular basis and reminded of our open door policy and can approach staff at any time, Initial contact should be with the child s key person, who will reassure parents and explain clearly what steps will be taken to address their concern. Within each classroom there is a designated deputy SENCo who can liaise with the child s key person noting any concerns which will then be discussed with Lisa Kielstra/Dawn MacLellan, our SENCo, who will be able to advise on the most appropriate method of action. If parents have any concerns or issues about the special educational needs or disability provision within the nursery, they should discuss this with the SENCo first where necessary. If there are still concerns, they should follow the complaints procedure for the nursery. Identification, Assessment and Provision. Provision for our children with special educational needs is a matter for the nursery; therefore a whole approach responsibility. In addition to management, our SENCo and all other members of staff have important day to day responsibilities. All our practitioners are passionate about providing an inclusive environment for children with special educational needs to reach their full potential. Provision The identification and assessment of the special educational needs of children whose first language is not English, requires particular care. Where there is uncertainty about an individual child, staff will look carefully at all aspects of a child s performance to establish whether the problems they have in the nursery, are due to limitations in their command of the language that is used, or if it arises from special educational need. If development proves to be in line with expected targets and there are no other areas of concern, the nursery will work with parents, making sure continuity of the home environment continues at the nursery. This will be achieved by working with parents during; registration of the child, settling in sessions and thereafter. The child will have photos of staff members, nursery, toys and equipment to look through and talk about with the parent. This will help the child to become familiar with the setting. The nursery will encourage the child to bring things into the nursery, from home that helps them to feel secure. This could be a favourite piece of cloth, blanket, toy or teddy etc. We understand the importance of bringing the home environment into nursery, and the nursery into the home, by working with the child and their family during the transition period.
In order to help our children, who have special educational needs, the nursery will adopt a graduated response that recognises there is a continuum of needs, and therefore brings increasing specialist expertise to support any difficulties that a child may be experiencing. The nursery will record the steps taken to meet the needs of individual children in our care. The SENCo will have responsibility for ensuring that the records are kept and available as needed, and the tasks for each child are undertaken by their key person. The role of the SENCo SEN Coordinator, responsibilities may include: Overseeing the day to day operation of the nurseries SEN policy Coordinating provision for children with special educational needs Liaising with and advising fellow practitioners Overseeing the records of all children with special educational needs Liaising with parents of children with special educational needs Devising Individual Educational plans (IEP) with key person Multi agency working Working in partnership with parents, offering support and signposting where appropriate Monitoring Children s Progress The nurseries system for observing and assessing the progress of individual children will highlight any area where a child is not progressing satisfactorily. Under these circumstances, staff may need to consult the SENCo to consider what else might be done. This review may lead to the conclusion that the child requires additional support within the particular group. Further intervention from outside agencies would be considered with the parents permission. Adequate progress can be defined in a number of ways. It might be progress which: Closes the attainment gap between the child and their peers Prevents the attainment gap growing wider Is similar to that of peers starting from the same attainment baseline, but less than that of the majority of children Matches or betters the child s previous rate of progress Ensures access to the full curriculum Demonstrates an improvement in self-help, social or personal skills Demonstrates improvements in the child s behaviour
Nursery Action When a practitioner or SENCo identifies a child with special educational needs, the key Person will provide interventions that are additional from those provided as part of the nurseries curriculum based activities; this will be called nursery action. The triggers for intervention through nursery action will be based upon evidence collated by staff, where despite receiving differential learning opportunities makes; Little or no progress, even when teaching approaches are targeted particularly in a child s identified area of weakness Shows signs of difficulty in developing skills which result in poor attainment in some developmental areas Presents persistent emotional or behavioural difficulties which are not improved by the behaviour management techniques usually employed in the nursery Has sensory or physical problems, and continues to make little or no progress, despite the provision of specialist equipment Has communication and/or interaction difficulties, and continues to make little or no progress, despite the provision of a differentiated curriculum In some cases, outside professionals from health or social services may already be involved with the child. Where these professionals have not been working with the nursery, the SENCo may contact them, if the parent is in agreement. The SENCo will support the further assessment of the child, assisting in planning future support for them in discussion with colleagues and monitoring the action taken. The child s key person will remain responsible for working with the child on a daily basis and for planning and delivering an individualised programme. Parents will always be consulted and kept informed of the action taken to help the child, and of the outcome of this action. Nature of Intervention The SENCo and the child s key worker will decide on the action needed to help the child progress, this may include: Some group or individual support Extra adult time (if possible), to devise the nature of the planned intervention and to monitor its effectiveness Staff development and training to introduce more effective strategies Different learning materials or special equipment Individual Education Plans Strategies employed to enable the child to progress will be recorded within an Individual Educational Plan (IEP). The IEP will include information about: Overall and specific area of need
Current skill level positive statement Long term goal Specific short term targets Parental involvement/home link Outcomes Early Years Action Plus There may be the need for staff to seek additional support and advice from outside agencies; this can be accessed through a referral system with the parents consent, recognised in Plymouth as the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) form. Working in partnership with the relevant agencies targets and resources will be discussed and strategies put in place. Early years Universal Transition and Transition plus. The Early Years Transition and Transition Plus programme will ensure that every child, irrespective of their needs, will experience support and success as they transfer from one Early Years provider to another or enter into the Foundation Stage of school. Planning will take account of the whole child and their parents/carers and will ensure a multiagency approach. For some children the step into the foundation stage and full time education is bigger and we have to make sure that no detail is left unattended when the transition phase is planned. For some children who are vulnerable and have additional needs a collaborative transition plus plan must be agreed and collectively implemented, the early monitoring process should identify the quality of the plan and allows everyone involved to provide optimal support for each and every child s personalised transition.
Universal Early Years Transition and Transition Plus The Transition Action Plan form can be published in another language and translators must be considered if English is a second language. This is so that parents and carers have equal access to the procedures for consent to enable information sharing for all. Throughout the whole process our SENCo s are dedicated to ensuring the parents fully understand and have full control and confidence to determine the choices they feel are paramount for their child s development. Written by Lisa Kielstra and Dawn MacLellan